888
Forest
Chapter One: Reflections
888
Jonathan of Conte, king of the failing kingdom of Tortall, ran a hand through his black hair and glared at the reports in front of him.
"Damn it all to the black god's realm!" He spat bitterly, willing the figures to change. There was a rustle as his companion picked up the papers and studied them.
"Damning is not going to change them, sadly." The woman sorted through the pile of reports on the desk and found a rough sheet of figures. Carefully, she wrote a number at the bottom of the page, made a calculation, and ringed the answer. "If we don't receive help soon, the whole country will starve this winter."
"How did this happen?" Jon stood up, frustrated, and paced the room, glaring at a map that had been hastily attached to the wall. Elegant blues and greens shaded the borders of several countries, all crushed together on one island. Separate islands kept their distance- the red-shaded Yamani Isles and the violently yellow Carthaki lands protected by broad blue strips of sea. Jonathan scowled and jabbed a finger at one of the countries.
"First Fief Dunlath attacks us, then Scanra. They send their armies into our country and leave their people to be slaughtered by the immortals, but they survive. We are peaceful, we protect our people, and yet we are the ones who are dying!" He whirled and glared at his wife. "It's not fair!"
"Stop it, Jon, you sound like a child." The woman replied, brushing her dark hair out of her eyes. His Imperial Majesty gaped for a second, then spun round to the map again and glared at the yellow empire.
"Carthak promised us an alliance, and then they throw it all away because Alanna insulted them? What sort of a reason is that? If I stopped being reasonable every time Alanna insulted me, I'd…I'd…"
"You'd probably be exactly the same as you are now." Responded Thayet absently, examining a document. "Besides, the emperor claims in this that Alanna attacked him- threatened his life. It's odd…"
Jonathan jabbed the map so hard his finger tore through, leaving a hole in the middle of Galla. "What's odd? We knew she was in a bad mood when we sent her…"
"No… not that. When did we receive this? Yesterday morning? Yet it claims that it happened last Thursday."
Jon tore his gaze from the map and looked at the letter, a frown-line creasing his forehead. "That makes no sense… there's no way a letter could arrive here in under a week. Maybe they forgot what date it was?"
"But then, surely they would have dated it for the week before? How many clerks do you know who'd say… um… "A mistake was made on the date: we forgot it wasn't two weeks in the future"?" She tapped the letter thoughtfully with a fingernail and put it down, her beautiful white skin paler than usual. "No, it makes no sense. It's like they knew what was going to happen, and decided to tell us a week in advance."
Jon had picked up the letter thoughtfully and was scanning the dated, but unreadable, wax seal when there was a hesitant knock on the door. A young page hesitated, bowed, and turned to face the king.
"Your majesty," he said, trembling, "There's a ship pulling into the harbour."
"A ship?" Thayet asked from the window, peering out of the panes in a dignified manner. The page nodded, gulped, and bowed again.
"Yes, your majesty. We're not sure who it is- all the sails are down and there's some kind of enchantment…" he swallowed and bowed a third time, "Begging your pardon."
Jonathan smiled at him, disguising his own worry over the boy's. "Don't be afraid of us… Rupert, isn't it? Save your fear for your enemies… and for Alanna, when she gets back." He muttered under his breath. Thayet grinned at him from the window and pointed at the tiny boat in the distance.
"Better start shaking now, Jon- it's Alanna, and yes, I do believe she's been sea-sick again. She's going to be so angry at whoever made her get on a boat… oops, I didn't scare you, did I?" She smiled beautifully and offered the king her arm. "Shall we go and meet them, my lord?"
"After you, my lady." the king replied.
888
Daine leaned over the rail, watching as the ship shimmered in the glistening water. Cloud had been terrified when she noticed that the boat did not look any more substantial than the sea, but Daine thought it was the most beautiful thing she'd ever seen. The spell blended the ship into the sea so well it was like being a fish, she thought.
When the ship had first left Carthak, she hadn't cared what it looked like. Her "family" had been taken from her in one night by the order of a man she had trusted completely for years, and her whole world seemed to be in shreds. For most of the first week of travel she had stayed in her tiny cabin with the door locked, hardly even eating, and had cried bitterly. Every time she slept she could see the faces of people who had died in front of her- Katryn, Danny, even the emperor, and her mother. She would wake up screaming and shaking, convinced that they were reaching out to her, blaming her for their deaths.
Numair had slept solidly for the first four days, exhausted by the intense magical battles he had fought in Carthak. On the fifth day, he found out where Daine was hiding, and brought her onto the deck of the ship. By then, the ship was in the middle of the ocean, having sailed around the coast to avoid the Carthaki fleet.
The sky was a mass of brilliant reds, pinks, blues and purples, which reflected on the sea until it seemed like the boat was floating on a rainbow. For the first time in days, Daine wiped the tears from her eyes and looked at the sunset.
"There is a legend, where I come from," Numair said quietly, watching the sky, "That the sky spirits and the water-dwellers are always competing with one another. That is why the sea always copies the sky. The sea tries to reach the sky by making waves, and the sky rains down on the sea. But at sunset, when the water is calm, they can reach each other on the horizon. That's the only time they talk to one another."
"That's a stupid story." Croaked the girl, surprised at how rough her voice sounded, and realizing she hadn't used it for days. Numair smiled at her and looked back at the darkening sky.
"Maybe so. I don't think it's meant to be taken literally." He waved a hand at the horizon. "But all stories have to start somewhere. I don't think the gods would make something this beautiful, if they weren't trying to tell us something." He glanced sidelong at the girl. "When my grandfather died, I used to think he'd gone to be a sky spirit- he was always so cheerful that I couldn't imagine him in the dark realms. I used to talk to him every time there was a sunset, so he wouldn't forget me."
"My mam used to say something like that…" Daine's voice tailed off as she stared into the sky. The colours had deepened into reddish browns and yellows. For a moment, looking at the gathering clouds, she thought she saw a face looking down on her and smiling sadly. Its beautiful features shifted, becoming childish, then more severe.
"Mam… Katryn… Danny…" The girl whispered, staring at the three shifting faces, only vaguely aware that Numair had left her alone, "I haven't forgotten you, I swear… I love you, mam… Danny, I miss you every day. Take care of yourself. Katryn…" She swallowed and turned her face away as the wind ripped the clouds to shreds. "…goodbye."
After that day, the nightmares had started to fade away. Numair wouldn't let her stay in her cabin like she had been, and introduced her to the entire crew. One, whom she was particularly worried about meeting, surprised her especially. As soon as he saw her, he whisked his cap from his head and bowed deeply.
"I just want to say, miss, that if it weren't fer you, we would'a never gotten out of that sandy place alive." He leaned forward and clapped her shoulder heartily. "That was some neat trick you pulled with that wolf magic, wasn't it?"
"W…was it?" Daine stumbled, surprised, "I thought I scared you. I'm sorry…"
"Sorry!" The sailor grinned heartily, revealing a missing tooth, "Never heard of such a neat disguise in all my days! 'Ere," he added, leaning towards her confidentially, "I don't suppose you could teach me to do that, miss? Only I got a brother, and it'd be a great surprise fer him!"
"I bet." Daine smiled suddenly, but found herself being introduced to the next sailor before she could reply.
"See?" Numair muttered as they ate a lunch of bread and cheese on the deck later that day, "They're terrified of you!" Daine smiled and said nothing.
888
A shadow fell over the side and suddenly the "water" boat became dull. Disappointed, Daine pulled herself back off the rail and looked up. She smiled at the very tall man who was currently blocking out the sun.
"We're nearly there." Numair said, nodding at the approaching port. "Are you alright?"
Daine nodded, looking back at the expanse of water they had crossed, almost invisibly thanks to the reflective spell. "It feels like a whole section of my life was lived for me and now it's over… I can be myself again. I won't forget what happened- I can't- but I know it couldn't have happened any differently than it did."
Numair nodded thoughtfully and tugged at his nose, "That reminds me- do you have any idea how to get that collar off?"
Daine blinked, surprised, and felt at the thick metal band that encircled her throat. "You know, I completely forgot about it!" She frowned. "Normally, there would be a key, or you'd kill the person who fixed it…that's what some of the Banjiku did. But this was spelled by Kavan as well as Ozorne. He must still be alive, or something."
"Who's Ka-" Numair started, then interrupted himself. Alanna was climbing up onto the deck, looking decidedly unhappy.
"Whose bright idea was it to go to Carthak, anyway?" She asked, lurching across the moving deck.
"Jon's." Replied the mage, absently. Alanna cracked her knuckles loudly and glared at the shore.
"Right."
"Be nice." Warned Numair.
888
A/N: Well, that's the scene set. It's rather Jon/Thayet heavy at the moment, but most of the story is going to be D/N. So if you don't like J/T, don't worry, they're not major characters. :)
